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A leprechaun is sighted in small–town New Hampshire. A city boy becomes a hero in prehistoric Sweden. An elf prince tries to reward a girl who wishes he'd just leave her alone. In these and other delightful stories, magical adventure appears in the most unexpected places!

Instead of Three Wishes is a captivating collection of witty and sparkling fantasy stories from the Newbery Honor author of The Thief.

Flunked: Fairy Tale Reform SchoolFairy Tale Reform School is spellbinding and wickedly clever. Gilly is smart, spunky, and a hilarious narrator, and I cannot wait to read about her next adventure!" - Leslie Margolis, author of the Annabelle Unleashed novels and the Maggie Brooklyn Mysteries.
See more featured fantasy & magic books for 9 - 12 year-olds

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Princes in disguise, royal elves and book-loving ghosts all play a part in the seven stories of this intermittently promising collection. Throughout, debut author Turner's style is expansive, allowing for mood-setting details and for occasionally sharp wit, but most of her plots follow familiar, predictable patterns. As a rural town fills up with leprechaun-hunters in "A Plague of Leprechaun," for example, it's easily foreseen that the sole disinterested party, an art school graduate intent on pursuing his craft, will end up with the little green fellow's bag of gold. On the other hand, the entry "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" is a standout. This carefully framed narrative unfolds slowly and suspensefully to reveal a series of puzzles, their settings ranging from an underpopulated island off North Carolina to Canaletto's Venice, their marvelous resolution followed by a denouement of near-equal magic. The inventiveness and control shown here augur well for Turner's future endeavors. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8?Seven short stories in which fantasy mingles with the everyday lives of ordinary people. In the first, a leprechaun sighting brings an excess of tourists to a small New England village. In the next, a boy goes back in time and makes himself a hero by claiming to be a killer of roaches. In "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits," a girl is sent into a painting to search for a missing object that turns out to be a selkie skin. In the title story, an elf owes three wishes to a girl who keeps rejecting his efforts. In "The Baker King," a kingdom keeps waiting for its prince to return and finds that he is there all the time?but in a most unlikely place. Each selection has an unexpected twist at the end that will surprise readers but that logically fits the tale. Turner does a fine job of creating time and place and imbues the selections with a mild humor that will elicit gentle chuckles and smiles. Some of the stories are stronger than others, and not all of them will appeal to the same audience, but all are readable and the best are very good. Several would also make excellent choices for reading aloud.?Jane Gardner Connor, South Carolina State Library, ColumbiaCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

In this collection of short stories, Turner treats readers to seven magical tales.

In "A Plague of Leprechauns," a small town is beset with leprechaun-hunting tourists whenever someone reports seeing one of the little green people. See what happens when a serious young artist arrives in town on the heels of a sighting.

"Leroy Roachbane" is a boy who is mysteriously thrown back in time to ancient Sweden. Asked whether he is a spirit or hero, he chooses hero. Soon after his arrival, there is a battle to be fought.

The "Factory" is a self-contained community in the middle of an unending city. John, the newest employee, is assigned a job operating a crane far above the factory floor. He soon learns that men rarely stayed in his position due to ghostly happenings.

"Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" is a fanciful tale, told by an old woman to her great-niece, of an adventure inside a painting.

"Instead of Three Wishes," Selene wishes to be left alone. The elf prince who promised her the wishes can't understand why she won't accept, so he tries to find ways to make her happy.

Kevin, your average school bully, is forced to live with "The Nightmare" after he and his pals try to frighten an old woman. Each night brings more fear until the dream can be overcome.

"The Baker King" is about a baker's apprentice who bears a striking resemblance to the late king's son. Will the young man's uncanny appearance help when outsiders threaten to take over the small kingdom?

Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always fascinating, these stories will intrigue young readers with a taste for the unusual. Each tale is cleverly written and believable in its own way.Read more ›

Instead of Three Wishes, by Megan Whalen Turner, is a book for everyone. It doesn't matter whether you are six or sixty-six; this book brings out the inner child in all of us. The clever plot twists and fantasy worlds keep your mind on edge. Instead of Three Wishes is composed of seven mystical short stories that will amaze you. The second story is entitled "Leroy Roachbane." This story involves a child named Leroy. Every morning Leroy woke up and went into his pantry to kill off any cockroaches before his mother entered. One day after his daily duty, Leroy went to the store to buy boric acid and roach motels. On his way home, Leroy's bike skid on an ice patch, and he was knocked unconscious. Leroy's mind began to wander, and took him to a place in many ways similar to his own life. When Leroy regained consciousness, he discovered something out of the ordinary. This story was incredibly entertaining and mind boggling, as is the next story. The third story is called the "Factory." In short, this story concerns a new employee that will work the high crane at a local factory. For some reason, this job has been vacant often. One day while the employee was reading on his lunch break, he saw another figure that seemed to also be reading. In actuality, the figure was the ghost of a little girl who once lived on the factory lot. This story takes what we think we know and twists it into the unknown. "Factory" makes you wonder if there is an afterlife, in a fun and lighthearted way. The fifth story is the title story. This story is in some ways similar to the first story in the book. It involves a student who helped an unrecognizable elf prince cross a busy intersection. In return the prince offers the student three wishes.Read more ›

Every single story in this book are filled with excitement and you don't want to put the book down! Each are a surprising magical tale for all ages. One story, a girl goes into a painting to find a treasure for someone. A surprising ending. I can't tell you how good all of the stories are. You have to read them!

In this book, the author tells her stories with the humor and down to earth style one would get if they were dicussing the tale with a friend over a cup of tea. The stories are fun, and creative. Who whould ever guess that a girl would turn down magical presents because she was content with her life? Then instead of marrying a prince, she goes to college. What a twist when another young girl is able to jump in a painting and meet it's inhabitents. Imagine a young bully changing his ways because dreams allow him to view himself through the eyes of others. Although the stories are based on classical fairy tales, the women are smart, strong, and empowered. There are no helpless maidens being rescued here.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories - they're not your typical fairy tales, for sure! Megan Whalen Turner tells unique stories with creative flair. I was actually kind of disappointed that these were short stories - I wished some of them were longer! Of course the Attolia books by MWT are AMAZING and you HAVE to read them, but these are great, too!

Instead of Three Wishes, by Megan Whalen Turner, is a book for everyone. It doesn't matter whether you are six or sixty-six; this book brings out the inner child in all of us. The clever plot twists and fantasy worlds keep your mind on edge. Instead of Three Wishes is composed of seven mystical short stories that will amaze you. The second story is entitled "Leroy Roachbane." This story involves a child named Leroy. Every morning Leroy woke up and went tinto his pantry to kill off any cockroaches before his mother entered. One day after his daily duty, Leroy went to the store to buy boric acid and roach motels. On his way home, Leroy's bike skid on an ice patch and he was knocked unconscious. Leroy's mind began to wander, and took him to a place in many ways similar to his own life. When Leroy regained consciousness, he discovered something out of the ordinary. This story was incredibly entertaining and mind boggling, as is the next story. The third story is called the "Factory." In short, this story cancerns a new employee that will work the high crane at a local factory. For some reason, this job has been vacant often. One day while the employee was reading on his break, he saw another figure that seemed to also be reading. In actuality, the figure was the ghost of a little girl who once lived on the factory lot. This story takes what we think we know ans twists it into the unknown. "Factory" makes you wonder if there is an afterlife in a fun and lighthearted way. The fifth story is the title story. This story is in some ways similar to the first story in the book. It involves a student who helped an unrecognizable elf prince cross a busy intersection. In returm, the prince offered the student three wishes.Read more ›

More About the Author

Megan Whalen Turner is married to a professor and often relocates when he needs to do research. When they traveled to Greece one summer, she decided to use its landscape as the background of a book, but didn't write The Thief until she was spending a year in California, where the olive trees reminded her of the Greek mainland.